VCs have poured billions into a nascent nuclear technology — these are the 4 companies to watch
Just 4 small modular reactor companies have received $3B in VC funding. But leading experts tell BI it's unclear if SMRs will solve AI energy needs.
Nuclear reactor
Rolls-Royce is in talks to use its compact nuclear reactors to power data centers and space missions
Rolls-Royce has been working on nuclear-microreactor technology for over three years, first collaborating with the UK Space Agency in 2021.
The US wants to build a different kind of nuclear reactor from a decades-old concept that could power ships and other off-the-grid locations
Most nuclear reactors use water as a coolant. Molten-salt reactors use salts with higher boiling points. Kairos Power is set to build the US's first in decades.
2 nuclear reactors that can power 1 million US homes with clean, sustainable energy is $21 billion over budget and years behind schedule
The first new American reactors built from scratch in decades can each can power 500,000 homes and businesses without releasing any carbon.
For only the second time in its history, the US Navy is beginning the slow, tricky process of taking apart a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier
USS Nimitz has spent nearly 50 years operating all over the world, and now the US Navy is making plans to dispose of it.
Russia is firing artillery from a captured nuclear power plant, leaving Ukraine reluctant to shoot back
Experts previously said the risk of a nuclear catastrophe at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was low but conflict raised the risk.
Bill Gates' nuclear-power firm will help build a $170 million experimental nuclear reactor in Idaho
The project is a collaboration between Gates' TerraPower and Southern Company, and is designed to test and develop molten-chloride fast reactors.
The Department of Defense will build a prototype mobile nuclear microreactor to meet energy demands of US military
Microreactor prototype designs from two teams will be reviewed by the Department of Defense in early 2022.
How nuclear-powered submarines actually work
Nuclear-powered subs can operate at sea for longer, spend more time submerged, and sail at higher speeds than conventionally powered subs.
The US military is trying to build portable nuclear reactors again. It didn't go so well when it tried 60 years ago
The US military's first portable nuclear reactors didn't work out well in terms of contamination, cost, human health, and international relations.
Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are building a $1 billion next-generation nuclear reactor in Wyoming
Bill Gates said the advanced nuclear reactor would perform better and cost less than a traditional nuclear power plant.
China and Russia agree to boost ties in a 'strategic priority' area — nuclear power
"It can be said that Russia-China relations have reached their highest level in history," Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
The US Navy is planning to 'recycle' one of its first supercarriers. Here's what's next for USS Nimitz.
The Navy has the ambitious goal of building a fleet with 546 ships by 2051. The USS Nimitz won't be one of them.
A nuclear reactor in Indiana has gone all-digital, and it could mark a turning point for American atomic energy
A nuclear engineer said "there are no scenarios which would put the Purdue facility in an unsafe state."
NASA's deep-space nuclear-power crisis may soon end, thanks to a clever new robot in Tennessee
NASA needs a reliable supply of plutonium-238 to power ambitious space missions, so the US government built a special robot to help make it.
China may add a 'nuclear element' to the disputes in the South China Sea, the Pentagon is warning
China continued to work on the facilities it has constructed on islands in the South China Sea, and its plans to power those facilities may mean floating nuclear reactors in one of the world's most heavily trafficked bodies of water.
NASA built and tested a 'truly astounding' nuclear reactor that may help astronauts travel longer, farther, and faster in space
NASA's new Kilopower technology uses nuclear fission and electrical converters to generate enough energy to power human and robotic space missions. Recent tests of a prototype reactor suggest devices may soon be ready for safety and flight tests.
NASA could run out of nuclear fuel for deep-space missions within a decade
The Department of Energy's production of plutonium-238 for NASA needs some big fixes, according to a new government audit.
A forgotten war technology could safely power Earth for millions of years. Here's why we aren't using it.
The science is proven. The concept works. Whether it's built before humanity's looming energy crisis is up to us.
A solution to our coming energy crisis may come from a Cold War airplane technology
By 2040, humanity will balloon to 9 billion people — and we'll need nearly 50% more energy to power civilization.